The sharp fall of national dwelling commencements in the September quarter reinforces the urgent need for governments to address supply side policy failures, according to the peak building and construction industry association.
The Australian government's banking reform package failed to address lack of competition in the banking sector, the lobby group for non-bank lenders says.
Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan earned a high mark of eight from consumer group Choice for his efforts in improving Australia’s banking system but his recently revealed banking reform measures got only a dismal five.
Some 600 hundred Chinese miners are set to fly in to Queensland and work on Clive Palmer’s $8 billion Galilee Basin coal development joint venture project with the Metallurgical Corporation of China (MCC).
Boosting competition alone will not satisfactorily address banking issues, the Finance Sector Union today told a Senate inquiry into competition within the Australian banking sector.
Confusion now arises as the federal government and three giant mining firms appear to disagree on a crucial provision of the minerals resource rent tax, in which resource companies insist that all state royalty payments are subject for refund by the commonwealth.
Synthetic gas producer Cougar Energy Ltd expressed optimism that the Queensland government would decide on its favour in January and would allow the resumption of its underground coal gasification (UCG) operations in Kingaroy.
The controversial $30 billion Woodside Petroleum’s Kimberley liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Western Australia won the nod of the state’s Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) on Monday, leaving the WA environmental and federal approval as the only stumbling block for its realisation.
Regulatory interventions may be politically popular but risk being counterproductive, bankers warned today.
Full account number portability may address several banking issues, but major challenges remain, according to a leading market research agency.
The Coalition called the federal government’s newly-revealed banking reforms package as mere political patches and insisted that the proposals’ shortcomings would prove inadequate in solving the ills of the Australian banking system.
Following the federal government’s freshly-released banking reform package over the weekend, Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) governor Glenn Stevens aired his reservations on the active role that authorities are set to play, in the name of promoting lower interest rates and better competition environment in the sector.
Australia's building and construction industry is concerned that the federal government's banking reform could pose a threat to business sector lending.
The Australian economy would see a more liberal trade policy in the months and years to come as the federal government reveals its agenda of encouraging healthier competition and tearing down tariff barriers to allow the influx of further investments.
The state government of Western Australia is training its attention on the possibility of more immigrant workers filling up the void of the worsening skill shortage in the area.
Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan signified the looming role that credit unions would play once the Australian banking industry has absorbed the reforms set to be introduced by the national government, by signing up for his own credit union account.
The Australian government is not at fault on the latest mining tax row between federal authorities and giant resource firms, if Resources Minister Martin Ferguson was to be believed.
The federal government backtracks on its earlier commitment of hooking up newly built homes in Australia to the national broadband network (NBN), deciding instead that large-scale development projects would be given priority.
The National Water Commission (NWC) has called on all parties in Australia to stay the course on water reform and engage constructively with the Murray-Darling Basin planning process.
A new mining tax debate appears to be brewing as Australia’s giant miners insisted before the Senate select committee that all state and territory royalties should be creditable against the minerals resources rent tax liability.
The federal government’s much-awaited banking reform measures would be known anytime next week as Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan hinted that changes in the industry would be dealt with one at a time.
The federal government is scheduled to announce on Wednesday its decision on the contentious issue of the national broadband network’s interconnecting points, which Australian telco providers can hook up to in delivering high-speed internet access across the nation.
Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd had a propensity to commit diplomatic faux pas during his time as prime minister.
The state government steps up its efforts to promote home ownership for Queensland’s indigenous communities and wants the public to share their inputs on ways to push the program into a reality.
No federal funds would be poured on Tasmania’s efforts to reform its forest industry but Prime Minister Julia Gillard gave assurance that the state government could count on the commonwealth for help in implementing the new logging program.
Federal efforts of restoring the environmental health of Murray-Darling Basin suffered a setback on Tuesday with the decision of the area’s authority chair to quit his post amidst the ongoing controversies hounding the program.
Stiff competition among telecommunication firms would be the norm once the national broadband network becomes fully operational and with the NBN Co practically controlling the new fibre optics network set to be established across Australia, telcos are focusing on excellent customer service to stay on top of the game.
Closer scrutiny of the banking industry and stricter government regulation do not necessarily mean that competitive environment would be introduced in the sector, it’s all about healthy consultation between the government and industry players.
Electronic retail specialist Harvey Norman is following the lead of its rival Myer as the company announced on Monday it would establish an online store that would process and ship goods from China to Australia.
Independent MP Andrew Wilkie accused Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd of posturing on China, in light of a leaked WikiLeaks document which showed that the former prime minister suggested the use of force against Beijing.
